He is Good | Praying in the Garden | Mark 14:32-52 | Coleton Segars

The teaching text for today comes from Mark chapter 14, verses 32 through 52.

Mark 14:32–52

So Mark chapter 14, 32 through 52.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

This is what Mark writes.

He says, They went to a place called Gethsemane.

And Jesus said to his disciples, Sit here while I pray.

He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.

My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, he said to them, Stay here and keep watch.

Going a little further, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.

Abba, Father, he said, Everything is possible for you.

Take this cup from me, yet not what I will, but what you will.

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.

Simon, he said to Peter, Are you asleep?

You couldn't watch with me for one hour.

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.

And when he came back he again found them sleeping because their eyes were heavy.

They did not know what to say to him.

Returning the third time he said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting?

Enough, the hour has come.

Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.

Rise, let us go, here comes my betrayer.

Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, appeared.

With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the teachers of the law and the elders.

Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them the one I kiss is the man.

Arrest him and lead him away under guard.

Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, Rabbi, and kissed him.

The men seized Jesus and arrested him.

Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

Am I leading a rebellion that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?

Jesus said.

Every day I was with you teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me.

But the scriptures must be fulfilled.

And everyone deserted him and fled.

A young man wearing nothing but a linen garment was following Jesus, and when they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

This is the word of the Lord.

There's a lot going on here in this text.

And so what I want to give you is like, real quick, like a 30,000-foot view of like what's taking place in this particular text.

And so Jesus is in Gethsemane, which is a garden, an olive garden, probably, which sounds funny.

But he's in this place where they make olives and they have a press there where they would crush the olives and they'd get the oil out of it.

So you have to crush an olive in order to get the oil out of it.

And so in this garden, Jesus is being pressed and crushed to the point of death.

And he's heading towards his betrayal by Judas, where he will then be arrested.

All his friends are going to abandon him, and they do.

And then the last line, what many people think is Mark's way of saying, I was also there wearing a linen garment, and when I also ran away naked.

And like he just introduces himself into the story for some reason, because that's not existing in any other gospel.

But he's completely alone, and then he's going to be put on trial in a couple of weeks, or excuse me, and when we teach this in a couple of days.

And then he'll be condemned, beaten, crucified, buried, raised on the third day.

And so this is beginning a scenario for him where he's moving into this thing.

And so that's the 30,000-foot view of what's taking place here.

What I want to do is I want to zoom in on Jesus and what he does in this particular time.

And so he's been looking at Jesus' actions basically the entire time.

It's the one book of the New Testament Gospels that really focuses on actions and not as much as teaching.

And so looking at the action of Jesus, what I want to do today is look at the fact that, like during this time of his unbelievable crushing, where he's feeling like I'm to the point of death, just overwhelmed.

I want to look at the fact that he prays during this time.

Could be doing anything, but he chooses to pray.

And then I want to look at what he prays, and then I want to look at what he says about prayer, and I want to show you three things.

So the fur uh three things we learn about the space of prayer based on what Jesus does here.

So three things we learn about what he's doing, what he prays, and then what he says.

So the first, the first thing that we learn about prayer through Jesus and his interaction here in the garden is that he believes and sees prayer in the place of prayer.

He sees it as a place of refuge.

He sees it as this thing that he can run to when he's deeply distressed.

Verse 33 and 34 say Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled, overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.

And a few commentators say that the two verbs, translated deeply distressed and troubled, together describe an extremely acute emotion, a compound of bewilderment, fear, uncertainty, and anxiety, nowhere else portrayed in such vivid terms as here.

And then another commentator says that he is almost dead with distress.

So just dealing with something that makes him feel like I am almost literally dead with distress.

And what's wild is that feeling all of that, dealing with all of that, the only thing that he wants to do is he wants to go and pray.

He wants to run away into this space with his father where I can, I just need to be alone with him.

I need to just sit with him.

I just need to go and take refuge with him.

That prayer isn't this thing where it's like, I don't know, I'm just kind of saying words out into the ether.

For him, it's like, this is a refuge to run to.

When I'm completely overwhelmed with life, when things are really, really hard for me, I want to run to actually go sit alone with my Father.

That's the way he views prayer.

And to me, in this, Jesus is showing us you should also view prayer that way.

You should view prayer not as this burden, but you should actually see it as something like I get to run into this space when I'm overwhelmed, when things are hard for me, when I don't want to fight anymore, when life isn't going well for me, when it's not going the way that I want it to be.

It's supposed to be this space where you're supposed to see it as like, what do I want to do?

I want to go be comforted.

Where can I go be comforted?

Run to the refuge that is prayer.

That's what Jesus talks about here, or at least the way uh he seems to model that.

And I think for us, in my experience, when I hear people talk about prayer, or I talk about prayer with them, or something like that, most people don't see prayer that way as a place to run and hide, and a space to run and be comforted.

They see prayer as a burden.

Every time they talk about it, they're like, I should probably be praying more.

I don't pray enough.

There's a lot of guilt associated when I hear people talk about their prayer lives.

Like, tell me about your prayer lives, like, oh, I don't do it enough.

Like, and it's so, or they think that like when I go to pray, I gotta have the right words.

I'm not totally sure what to pray, I'm not totally sure how to pray it.

I'm not, I don't know if I'm even doing it right, if I'm saying the right things.

And I understand that because there are words that you can pray in prayer, but I also think what Jesus is communicating is like there's this thing that exists in prayer where it can, it doesn't have to be a space where you go and talk or say anything.

It can just be the space that you run to where you're like, I just need to be alone and safe for a second.

I need to move into a safe place.

And Jesus is like, that's what he's doing.

That prayer can be that.

It can be a space of hiding.

Um, when Teddy has a bad dream, um he'll run and get in bed with me.

Um, and I'll ask him about it, like, hey, do you want to talk about your dream?

Like, do you want to talk about it?

And he's and most of the time, he's like, I do not want to say words.

I do not want to talk about it.

I just want to sit here with someone that makes me feel safe.

And Jesus gives that view of what prayer is.

Like, I just want to run to somewhere where I know that I'm loved, I want to run to somewhere where I know that I'm safe, I want to run to that space.

And I think that is the way that we're supposed to view prayer.

Richard Foster gives what I think is the best view of prayer and the way that we should see it and understand it.

Um, and some of you have heard this before because I've read it before, but uh it's the best view, I think, on prayer.

But he says, he tells a story.

He says, one day a friend of mine was walking through a mall with his two-year-old son.

The child was fussing, the father tried everything to quiet his son, but nothing helped.

The child would simply not obey.

And then, under some special inspiration, the father scooped up his son and holding him close to his chest, began singing an impromptu love song.

None of the words rhymed, and he sang off key, yet as best he could, this father began sharing his heart.

I love you, he sang.

I'm so glad you're my boy.

You make me happy, and I like the way that you laugh.

On they went from one store to the next.

Quietly, the father continued singing, making up the words as he went.

And the child relaxed and became still, listening to this strange but wonderful song.

And finally they finished shopping.

And as the father lifted his son into the car seat, the child lifted his head and said, Sing it to me again, Danny.

Sing it to me again.

And he says, Prayer is like that.

That's the way you gotta view it.

Prayer is like that.

In prayer, we allow ourselves to be gathered up into the arms of the Father and let him sing his song of love over us.

I love that.

I think that is how God wants you to view prayer.

I think that's how God wants you to view him.

Not as someone to be afraid of.

Like, can I even enter into prayer?

I know how sinful I am.

I don't even know if I really believe in this.

Can I run into this space?

Like he wants prayer to be something for you, that you're like, I can run into this thing and just rest and find peace in the midst of this.

This is how he wants to be known.

And it says this in the scriptures.

Proverbs 18 10 says that the name of the Lord, which would really just encapsulate all of him, that the character, the person of the Lord is a strong tower.

The righteous run to it and are safe.

David prays this in Psalm 142 when he's it's a prayer when he's in a cave.

He's actually in a refuge and he's thinking about God, and he says, I cry aloud to the Lord, I pour out my complaint before him and tell him my trouble.

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you, Lord, who watch over me.

Look and see.

No one is concerned for me.

I have no refuge, no one cares for my life.

Then he says, But I cry to you, Lord.

I say, You are my refuge.

And then in Psalm 37, the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.

He's their stronghold in time of trouble.

And then notice verse 40, the Lord helps them and delivers them because they take refuge in him.

He helps them and delivers them because they take refuge in him.

And so he's not sitting there like, sorry, I know you ran to me for help, but I can't really do anything, and my hands are kind of tied.

He's like, No, I will be good to I will I will I will actually be good to my name.

I know who you've run to me for help.

I'm not gonna be like, sorry, I'm not helping.

And so, like, when if if Teddy runs to me for help, I'm gonna do everything in my power that I can possibly.

I'm like honored that he ran to me to ask me for something that needs something from me.

And so I'm honored to ask.

And now there are times when he runs to me and he's like, hey, I have this going on at school and it makes me sad.

I need you to fix it.

And there are certain things, and I go, look, man, that's a hard thing, and I would love to just deliver you from that and remove you from that.

But you actually got to walk through this thing.

Like, you gotta walk through this hard thing.

What I can promise is I'm gonna be with you in the midst of it.

I'm gonna encourage you in the midst of it, I'm gonna help you in every single way that I can, but I cannot pull you out of that.

It's formative for you.

You have to go through it.

And I think many times we run to the Lord and we're asking for help, and he doesn't deliver us out of the thing.

He's like, but I am gonna do everything in my power.

You ran to me for refuge.

I'm gonna do everything I possibly can in the midst of it.

You need to walk through this, but I will encourage you, I will be with you, I will walk with you in the midst of it.

That's what he wants.

He wants to be a refuge for you.

He wants to be a place where you can run when you're scared and overwhelmed.

We need to see him.

You need to see him as this father that's like, please come.

Are you overwhelmed with life?

The thing's hard for you.

Run to me.

Let me actually be this person for you where you run in this space where you can be safe.

We don't need to worry about what we're gonna say.

What am I gonna say when I get there?

What am I gonna say in prayer?

What do I feel like I need to pray for the nation and for the world and for my family, and I do all that, and it's 10 seconds and I'm finished with my prayer.

Did that work?

Is that good?

It's like, don't I there's a space for talking, but you can also just see it the way Jesus sees it.

It is a space to run and to hide and to be safe with someone who is the safest person you could spend your time with.

It is a place of refuge.

And so you can just go and sit there.

For me, it's in my closet.

I have a chair in my closet.

I just go, when life gets hard and when things are hard, most of the time it's dealing with this church.

I run to that closet.

I run to that space.

I and I just I don't even have time to grab a journal.

If I have things to write, I just write them on the walls.

I'm like, we'll paint over it later.

Like, I don't know, I just write it on the walls.

And like, but for me, it is, it shifted from being something that's like, oh, it's just a it's just a place where I pray.

It shifted into like now when things get hard, I'm like, I need to go home.

It sounds so weird.

I need to run home to my closet.

But it's like, but there are some times where you're dealing with this thing where you're like, it's so hard.

I need to go to a space, and I have this space.

I'm like, he meets me here.

The Celts called it, the Celtic Christians, they called it the thin place.

It's where heaven met earth.

It's like you can you need to have yourself a place where it's like this is where I meet with him.

It's an intentional space.

We have places where we cook, we have places where we read, you have places where you eat, you got places where you work out, you got place, you got a place, you got a place, you got a place, get a place where you pray, a place where you can find refuge.

And if you need to say something, here's a good prayer, you could finish.

If you're like, you couldn't just go there and sit.

But if you need to say something, here's a good prayer, if you're learning how to do this, you could say this.

Go to the next slide.

Father, and then figure out your word.

I am worried, sad, scared, nervous, anxious, mad, overwhelmed.

You fill in the emotion that you feel.

Father, I am worried about, tell him.

And here's why I'm worried about that, tell him.

And then a simple prayer of like, please help me, please fight for me, please comfort me, please just sit with me.

Like he is an actual, like, he talks about himself as as a in the scriptures as a father and a mother.

He is like, I want to be there for you.

You are my kids, and I gave my life for you.

Like, I want to be there for you.

We need to see him as a refuge.

Peter says, cast your cares and your worries on God because he cares for you.

That's what we can do in this space.

And so we need to have this vision of prayer.

Like, what do I do when I'm overwhelmed to the point of death, when I'm just so sorrowful, when things aren't going my way?

Just run to a space and go be with him.

And so that's the first thing that we learn about prayer.

The second, the longest, this will be the longest.

Um, but it's also my favorite, which is probably why it's the longest.

But the second thing that we learn about prayer from Jesus is that for him, prayer was a place of freedom.

Like the man just felt like he could ask for whatever he wanted to ask for.

And so in verse 36, he says, Ah, but Father, everything is possible for you.

Take this cup from me.

Yet not what I will, but what you will.

And what you need to see in this text is that Jesus prays exactly very freely, he prays for exactly what he wants.

He says, Take this cup from me.

Not I don't love them, but also, please take this cup from me.

What I'm about to walk through, please take that from me.

And if you think about it, if God would have answered that prayer, take this cup from me, Father, if God answers, says, okay, and takes the cup from him, all of salvation history is gone.

None of us are saved, none of us will spend eternal life with him.

All of it is just completely gone.

The plan to redeem, restore, and heal the world, completely gone.

If he answers that prayer that Jesus prayed, take this cup from me.

If he does it, if God does it, everything that we've expected, we would not be here today.

And so it leads to the question like, why pray it?

Like, why give him the option?

Why would you pray that?

Why would you risk it?

If everything could go wrong if he answers that prayer, why would you ever pray that prayer?

And for Jesus, what he knows about God is like, my father is never gonna give me something that's not best for me.

I can feel the freedom to pray for exactly what I want.

Because if that's wrong, if that's not right, if that's not what's best, he's never gonna give me something that's not what's best for me.

He knows that.

He feels completely free to pray for whatever he wants because he knows God's never gonna say to me, my father's never gonna say to me, Well, if that's what you want, okay, here you go, you know, and does a thing.

Like he's not gonna do that.

He knows that about him.

He knows God is not like that.

And I think for us this is important because we get afraid.

I talk to people like, be careful, you know, be careful what you ask for, be careful what you pray for.

And it's like, that is not what's true in the scriptures.

But we think, what if I pray for something that's not good?

What if I pray for something that's not good and then God gives it to me?

And so our prayers sound like, what if I pray for kids, but then I'm not supposed to have kids, and then God gives me kids, and my life goes terrible?

It's like, look, if you have kids, your life's gonna go terrible, all right?

That's just part of it.

Um I mean, it'll be better.

There's redeeming qualities in it, but it's gonna be hard for you.

That's all I'm saying.

But like we pray this thing like, Lord, I what if I pray to get into that college, but I'm actually supposed to go to that college, and so God says, okay, you can go to this college, it's not really what I had for you, but you get then you go to this college, and then you meet the wrong people and you marry the wrong person, and then life just implodes on itself, and it was all because you prayed to go to that college instead of the one that God wanted to have for you.

Or if I prayed for that job, but I'm not I want this job, but maybe I'm supposed to have another job.

And so, God, I want this job, but maybe I shouldn't have this job.

I don't actually know.

Like, and we go through this thing of like, what if he gives me a wrong thing?

What if he gives me something I'm not supposed to have?

And if you think about it, like, do you hear how fearful that is?

Like, it doesn't sound like a father that says, pray unceasingly.

It sounds like the enemy saying, I wouldn't pray.

Be afraid.

Don't talk to him.

I'd be nervous about it.

And I think that defines a lot of our prayer lives.

But that type of fear, what it leads to is it leads to people praying a lot, maybe, but not really asking for anything.

They're not really asking for anything whatsoever.

And so it leads to prayers that sound like this God, I really want to be married unless I'm not supposed to be married.

I mean, I really want to be, but you might not want me to be married.

You know what?

Never mind, your will be done.

And then we just like close it down.

We're like, okay.

And then you're going, what did you just ask for?

Like, God's all-knowing, and I don't know that He knows what you just asked for.

Like, how would you even answer that prayer?

Because you basically started with a request but ended with a I don't really know what I want.

God, I really want this job unless you don't want me to have it, and then I don't want it, even though I do actually really want it.

I'm sorry if that's wrong.

Please forgive me for my sins.

Amen.

And you're like, you shifted from intercession and request to repentance and asking for forgiveness for your sins.

Again, like this happens all the time.

I most of the time this happens when people ask for, when I ask people for healing or something or pray over me for healing, what they'll say is they'll say, Um, God, would you heal Colton unless that's not your will?

And then would you comfort him?

And anytime that happens, I'm like, hey, I appreciate that.

I'm gonna go find somebody else that actually knows how to pray.

That's awful.

Please don't do that for me.

I didn't ask you for comfort, I asked for healing.

And it's like, well, I was trying to be humble.

Like, what if that's God's not his will for you?

I'm like, you do not have to be worried about that.

I will receive what God's will has for me, and I will say, once it happens, yes or no, when I receive the answer, I will be okay with whatever his will is.

But right now, I'm gonna pray for heaven to come down and for things to shift.

Like, that's the way we're supposed to pray.

At the end of it, this fear leads us to ask for nothing.

What if I ask for the wrong thing and he gives it to me?

What if I ask for the wrong thing and he gives it to me?

And Jesus doesn't have any of that.

He doesn't pray that way.

Take this cup from me.

He's not praying that way.

Oh, what if he does it and then all the plan goes to ruin?

He's not worried about that.

He knows God is not like that, and he says this.

He says, You who know how to give good gifts to your kids, how much more, and you're evil.

You who are evil know how to give good gifts to your kids when they ask.

How much more will your father in heaven give good gifts and know how to give good gifts to those who ask?

He's not worse than you, he's better than you.

And so if your kid asks for a fish, are you gonna give him a snake and be like, gotcha?

Like, no.

Well, maybe some of you might work on your parenting, but like, I don't think no, you're not gonna do that.

He's definitely not gonna do that.

We do not have to be afraid of praying for the wrong thing.

He will not give you the wrong thing.

Pray for what you want.

He will not give you the wrong thing.

And if you don't believe me, Tim Keller says it as well.

Here's a quote.

Tim Keller says, It is part of God's goodness and appointment that he allows the world to be susceptible to our prayers, that they matter.

How he does this, how he maintains control of history, yet still makes human prayer and action responsible within history, is one of the most practical mysteries of the Bible.

But think about how practical this is.

If we believed that God was in charge and our prayers meant nothing, it would lead us to discourage passivity and just prayerlessness.

If, on the other hand, we really believed that our actions changed God's plan, it would lead to paralyzing fear and the question, what if I asked for the wrong thing?

But if both are true, if our prayers do make a difference and God can still maintain control of history, then we have the greatest incentive for diligent effort in prayer.

And we can rest confidently knowing that we can't frustrate God's good plan for our lives.

It is a tremendous truth.

God deigns to hear prayer, he allows the world to be in some sense under the control of the power of prayer, thus is prayer powerful and effective.

We're supposed to feel that way.

We're supposed to feel the freedom to ask for whatever we want from the one who loves us more than anyone's ever loved us.

We should feel the freedom of that.

Then we should also believe what Jesus says.

Like, you can do whatever you want.

You can do anything.

So we should feel the freedom.

We should also know that He can do anything.

And then we should also feel this freedom to just trust that, like, if I if I'm asking for the wrong thing, I know you're not gonna do that.

I know you love me enough not to give me.

The wrong thing.

And so in our prayers, we're like, I'm trying to hedge, or I'm not totally sure.

And is it God's will to pray for this?

I don't know.

Just pray what you've got.

Just say the words.

What do you want?

And then just ask him for that thing, trusting, I have the freedom to do that, and I don't actually have to worry that you're going to give me the wrong thing because, like, sorry, you asked for it.

Any good parent, any wise parent, any loving parent, if your kids ask for the wrong thing, you will withhold those things from them because you love them and you know that's not what's best.

He will do the exact same thing.

We don't have to be afraid.

No.

I don't know if I'm gonna do this part.

Okay.

Do it.

Yeah, that's what I was waiting for.

I planted people in the audience to say that.

That's not real.

Um some of you know your Bibles really well, which, God bless you, what a gift.

Some of you need to read more of the Bible, and we'll get there.

Um but if you if you know the Bible really well, what people will say to, don't worry about praying for the wrong thing, you'll never give you the wrong thing.

People who know their Bibles will go, like, wait, I have two things that are pinging in my mind, of like people who prayed for wrong things, it seemed like, and they they received them, God, God gave them what they wanted.

And so, what I want to say to that, what when they're when if you're thinking in the room, what about the times in the scriptures where God where people do pray and God gives them the thing that wasn't good for them?

Very short answer is that doesn't exist.

Um, I'm gonna give you a longer answer.

Normally, what people reference is like, he will give you the wrong thing if you pray.

Think of 1 Samuel 8 when God, when the people of Israel ask for a king and then God gives them a king.

Two things to that.

One, the people of Israel were not praying to God for a king.

Okay?

If you're thinking like they asked for a king, they weren't supposed to have one, God gave them one.

They were not praying for a king.

This isn't a prayer of righteous, devoted followers of God.

They they were not praying for a king.

They were demanding something sinful from Samuel, a man.

They were not praying at all to him.

They've already rejected him as king, they don't want him, so they're not praying to him, they're just talking to a man, and they're demanding something sinful, and we know, according to the scriptures, God will allow us to choose sin, and he allows that, but it's not a prayer that he's like, you want it, you got it, and then gives them a bad thing.

This is not a prayer that they're asking.

This is a rejection of him, and they allow him to do that, and God allows them to do that.

Secondly, kings were not intrinsically wrong.

Kings were always a part of the people of Israel.

It was always gonna be a thing someday where there's a king, which is why we have King Jesus from the tribe of Judah, and on and on.

But there was always supposed to be kings in Israel, and so kings aren't a wrong thing.

They were prophesied.

The scepter will never depart from Judah.

It was always gonna be a thing.

And so it's not a prayer, okay?

That's the first one.

The second, some would say, Well, what about 2 Kings 20 with Hezekiah?

God said that Hezekiah was gonna die, but then Hezekiah prayed for a longer life.

God gave him that longer life, and then it led to Babylon coming to the kingdom, and then the terrible things followed.

Two things.

First, the 15 extra years of life that God gave to Hezekiah did not bring on the Babylonian invasion and the Babylonian exile.

Whether he dies or lives, the Babylonian invasion is coming, and the exile is coming, not because of Hezekiah and his 15 years or not.

That's coming because Israel will continue to reject God and not turn from their sin.

That's the only reason that's happening.

This 15 years of life did not lead them to do that.

Secondly, God didn't give Hezekiah those 15 extra years as a bad thing, like, well, this is really wrong for you, but I'll give it to you.

No, he he talks about it as a gift.

You prayed to me and asked for something.

I will bless you with 15 extra years of life, and I will give you victory over the Assyrian army.

Like it was this wonderful thing that God gave him.

Now, it's true that Hezekiah took the gift that God gave him and used it sinfully and pridefully, but we do that with stuff all the time.

God gives us a wife or kids or money, and we use we can use those things sinfully, but it doesn't make that the it doesn't make the gift wrong.

The 15 years asking for that thing wasn't wrong for Hezekiah.

He just used some of it incorrectly.

It was a good thing that he gave him.

And so my point in those two things, and so if you were wondering those things, you're welcome.

I put that in here for you.

If you're like, I have no idea what you're talking about, let me get back to the thing.

Okay.

My point is there are not examples in the scriptures that say, be careful what you pray for.

Be careful what you wish for, be careful what you there's not an example in the scripture that says be careful what you pray for.

It's not biblical.

God does not command us to be careful what we ask for.

He does command us to pray without ceasing, to devote ourselves to prayer, to ask, seek, and knock, and to come boldly before the throne of grace to receive help and mercy in your time of need.

He does never say to us, he does not say, Be careful what you ask for in prayer.

He doesn't say that.

Prayer is a place of freedom where you can ask for exactly what you want, and you can you can trust that if exactly what you want isn't what's best for you, he's not going to give it to you.

You have that freedom in prayer.

Jesus models that for us in his prayer.

And so, if you're wondering how to pray more freely, here's a good working example.

You can pray this.

Lord, I want what you have for me.

Because not because I not because I'm afraid of getting the wrong thing, I want what you have for me because I trust that your plans are better than anything I can possibly imagine for me.

I want what you have for me.

I do want your will to be done because I know it's better for me.

And because nothing is impossible for you, and because you love me and want always to hear my request, what I really want you to do is, and then state your request.

Whatever that is.

A shorter way of doing this is just thinking that the Lord is asking you, what do you want me to do for you?

The way that Jesus asks blind Bartimaeus, blind man, what do you want me to do for you?

And Bartermaeus isn't like, well, Lord, if it be your will, I'd really like my eyes back, but if it's wrong, if I'm gonna see something I shouldn't see and it's gonna ruin my family or something's gonna happen and that's gonna be bad, I don't really want it, so never mind, I'll just keep the blind eyes.

Like he doesn't do that, he prays very selfishly.

What do you want me to do for you?

I want to see.

We should feel that freedom here as well.

What I really want is this.

I do want what you want.

But I also have the freedom to ask for something, not fearing that you're gonna give me the wrong thing.

So there's freedom in prayer for you.

So Jesus shows us that in his prayer.

This uh third thing and final thing.

We learn from Jesus and what he says to Peter and the disciples that he believes that prayer is a place where you can effect change, where things can change.

So he says this to that if if Peter and the disciples would pray, it would change something in their lives.

Verse 38.

He says, Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

Watch and pray so that you don't fall into temptation.

Your spirit, the spirit of God is willing, but your flesh is weak.

Pray so that you may be strengthened in this.

Pray that something would change, so that you won't fall into temptation.

Mark Strauss says the verbs watch and pray are both imperatives and are addressed to all three disciples, not just to Peter.

Conquering temptation, therefore, not yielding to it, not entering into it, it can only come through these two actions, watching and praying.

And so this is why Jesus tells the disciples to pray.

Jesus sees prayer as a way in which we have the ability to shift things and change things, that you can actually shift and affect change through prayer.

The issue with the disciples and the issue with us is we struggle to believe that our prayers actually do make a difference.

We struggle to believe that.

They did, that's why they slept.

Verse 40 through 41, that's they're sleeping instead of praying.

Why?

Because they don't actually think it's gonna do anything.

Why don't we pray?

Because we don't actually think it's affecting anything.

And then verse 47, you get to Peter, and Peter, instead of praying, he tries to affect change a different way.

We know it says that the one standing near, we know it's Peter because other people say it was Peter who did it in the other gospels.

But he drew his sword and he struck the servant of the high priest.

And what you see is like he's trying to change things in his own strength.

And it says that he accidentally hit the high priest, or maybe he meant to, I don't know, why not hit a soldier?

But maybe he's just terrible with a sword.

But he hits the servant of the high priest and it basically does nothing.

But what you need to see from Peter's interaction, like he's trying to change things in his life.

There are things that Peter wants to change.

Jesus is about to, he is being betrayed, and he's about to be arrested.

He wants to change something.

And so he grabs his sword to do it.

What you need to see is that what Peter does in his own strength affects zero change.

It does nothing for Peter.

I want to change a bunch of stuff.

I'm gonna do some stuff in my strength.

It does nothing to change anything.

And so Jesus is still betrayed.

Jesus is still arrested.

The disciples still flee away from him out of fear, and Peter still eventually denies Jesus three times.

There's zero change.

Everything that Peter wanted to change, when he tries to do it in his own strength, he changes nothing.

Actually, I actually think he actually does a negative change.

He actually slices the ear off of Malchus, the high priest's servant.

And if in Luke's gospel, Jesus actually has to grab the ear off the ground and put it back.

In Peter's own strength, he did something worse than bad change instead of good change, and Jesus has to repair that.

And the point is, is like in his own strength, what Peter wanted to do, like, I'm trying to do something great.

I'm trying to shift something that's happening in his own strength.

Nothing changes that he actually wants to change because his own strength is not enough to actually change what he wants to change.

And the same is true for us.

Our own power to shift and to change things that we actually see that we want to shift and change.

We just do not have the strength in and of ourselves to do that.

And that is why we're called to pray.

That's why he calls Peter to pray.

He's like, I know you want to change things.

It's just your way of doing it, it's weak.

You do not have the strength in and of yourself to do what needs to be done.

Would you please ask my father who has all strength?

And Peter doesn't do it.

But that's why we're called to pray.

Prayer changes things because it leads us to stop depending on my strength and my ability and my power and what's possible for me.

And it shifts us from like, here's what I can do, and it shifts us to go.

I'm going to ask you and depend on your power, your strength, and what's possible for you, which is absolutely everything.

You can do whatever you want.

And so it shifts us into actual power and actual strength versus actually focusing on ourselves.

Jesus sees this as being something for us as a gift.

Prayer with him, prayer to him is a way to effect great change.

And he says this over and over and over again.

Ask and it will be given to you.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be opened.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe you've received it and it will be yours.

I will do whatever the Father asked what you ask the Father in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

You can ask for anything and I will do it.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

And then, if though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your kids.

How much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?

Just on and just a handful, on and on and on.

He is trying to convince his disciples and still the church today that prayer actually does affect change.

Tyler Staten in his book, it's called Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools.

It's a wonderful book.

I really recommend it to you highly.

He says this: he says, if we really took Jesus' invitation seriously, if we really believed in the sort of prayer that Jesus talked about, the modern church would have a hard time getting its people to do anything but pray.

If we actually believed it, we'd be like, why aren't you serving the poor?

It's like, because I think we can change a lot through prayer.

Like we like, why aren't you actually just going and having women's and men's events?

It's like, because I can't leave this space because there's so much in the world that I want to see changed, and I believe that this works and it's gonna do it.

He's like, if we actually believed it, it'd be hard to get us to do anything else.

And actually it works the other way.

It's hard to get people to show up to the prayer room.

It's hard to get people to show up to a prayer, a prayer time and a prayer space.

What will it actually do?

And I think Jesus has spent the gospels and he's spending the last days before his life trying to tell them again, it changes stuff.

Would you please pray?

Staton continues and he says, according to the scriptures, you, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are a ruler.

That's that's Genesis.

You're a ruler.

You are a co-heir with Christ.

That's Ephesians, because of what he what Jesus has done.

You are a manager of heavenly resources.

What are you doing with all of your authority?

You're a ruler, you're a co-heir with Christ.

You you manage the heavenly resources.

What are you doing with all that authority?

Prayer is heaven's highest security clearance.

We have free access to stroll right into the heavenly vault, gather up whatever we can carry, and hand it out to the world.

In prayer, we are calling the shots for how heavenly resources are distributed.

Prayer is the distribution of God's resources to the places and people that comprise our disordered world.

The Swiss theologian Karl Barth once said, to clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.

Prayer is the means by which we push back the curse that's infected the world and infected us.

It is the active experience of restoring creation.

And we need to remember, God doesn't need intercessors managing his creation.

He's not overwhelmed by all the responsibility of overseeing the world.

He's all-knowing, he's all powerful, he's got this.

God doesn't need intercessors who pray.

God chooses intercessors who pray.

If we really took Jesus seriously on the invitation to prayer, what would happen?

What would happen to you, to the people in your life, in your city?

Isn't it worth finding out?

Prayer is meant to be this space where we affect change.

And God may say no to your prayers.

He said no to plenty of mine.

He's saying no to Jesus' prayer right here.

No.

The cup's gonna, you're gonna drink that cup.

And so God may say no to your prayer, but you have to realize that Jesus, even though God is actively saying no to his prayer, he's receiving a no.

I'm asking for something and being told no, Jesus still says after he received that his prayer didn't affect change.

Jesus prayed, would it, I want to affect some change?

No.

Right after that, he goes to the disciples and says, prayer can affect change.

And so even in receiving something where he's praying and it doesn't affect change, he still believes.

After I received that from Jesus, like most people hear no from God, or we pray and nothing happens, we're like, this didn't work.

Jesus prayed and nothing happens, and he still goes to the disciples and says, it still works.

It's very important that you see that.

Like, no, this isn't going to affect the change that you want.

And he goes and tells the disciples, prayer still affects change.

We have to see that.

He has given us access to this gift.

And so we have to become people who pray.

He is still choosing to suffer for us, to go to the cross, so that the curtain can be torn, so that we have the access to go boldly before the throne of grace to ask for whatever we want.

He has given his life out of love for us so that we have this ability in prayer.

And so we should take him up on that.

And I preach it so hard, and I try and tell people, you know, prayers matter, even if they don't shape things right then and there.

They shift and they have the ability to affect change, not because you're such a good prayer, but because Jesus gave his life so that you would have that ability to pray.

He literally died so that you would have that thing.

And he has done it because he knows it is powerful and effective.

And so what we learn from this is that prayer is a place of refuge, it's a place of freedom, and it is a place to affect change.

So I hope to God, because y'all are very quiet, that any of you, just even one, is like, I'm encouraged to pray a little bit.

Can I just get a show of hands?

Anybody just encouraged a little bit to okay, one, two, three, okay, that's perfect.

Yeah, it's fine.

If you're like, nah, you don't have to lie to me in church.

Um those of you who are like, I'm in, I'd actually love to do this a little bit more.

I love it.

Here's a couple of things.

Here's how you here's here's a way to just begin.

One, you need to find a thin place.

You need to find a place.

Again, you have a place for everything.

Find a place.

Find a place where it can be your refuge.

It can be your car, a walk.

A friend of mine goes hiking, room for me.

Again, it's my closet.

Doesn't matter where, it just matters that you have one where you can go as a refuge and be like, this is a sacred space.

When I walk into my closet, I take my shoes off because they did that in the Old Testament when Moses was like, this is a holy place.

Take your shoes off.

You're in a different space.

I want it to be this space for me where I enter into this thing where I'm like, I am coming to meet with the living God, and I believe that he meets me there.

And so have a space.

And if you need something to pray, you can pray that prayer.

Father, I'm worried, scared.

Here's why.

And you can just sit there, and it can be for one minute, it can be for five, it can be for 30, it can be for an hour.

I'm gonna give you some resources here in a couple weeks on our podcast of like, here's how you can pray for five minutes and guiding you through those things.

Here's how you can pray for 30 minutes.

They couldn't wait with him one hour.

And like, I never thought I'd be able to pray for an hour.

Now I spend multiple hours in prayer.

Not because I'm so you know holy or anything like that, because it's like it's hard to leave at the safest place on earth.

It's hard to get out of there.

And so you can pray those.

Find a place.

Second, you need to feel the freedom to pray for what you want.

If you pray wrongly, if you pray for something that's wrong, do not fear.

He will not give you something wrong.

And so feel the freedom to pray for what you want.

And you can pray that prayer, Lord, I do want what you want from me.

But if you're asking what I really want, here's what I really want.

And you can feel the freedom to ask for those things.

And then finally, you need to pray for the things that you want to change but can't change.

Pray for the things that you want to see change.

And you'll say, I just can't do that at my own strength.

There's things that are happening in my family, my life, my health in the city of Memphis.

And like there's so many things that are in our world, in our government, blah, blah, blah, all these different things.

There's so much happening.

I want to see things shift.

I want to see things change, and I can affect change in my own strength.

Great.

Don't lean on yours, lean on his.

And ask him to do the things.

He loves this world more than you love this world.

He loves our city more than you love our city.

He loves your family, your kids, your spouse more than you love them.

Let him do the work.

Just ask him to do it.

Pray for things that you want to see change, but can't change on your own.

It actually does affect change.

Last quote Sky Dathani.

He says, We are not merely passive set pieces in a prearranged cosmic drama, but we are active participants with God in the writing, directing, design, and action that unfolds.

Prayer, therefore, is much more than asking God for this or that outcome.

It is drawing into communion with Him and there taking up our privileged role as His people.

In prayer, we are invited by God to join Him in the directing the course of the world.

Let's become people of prayer.